1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to swimming pool maintenance devices, and more particularly to a protective guard for a type of swimming pool cleaning aid known as a "whip" which is designed to automatically remove scum, sediment and other accumulations of foreign matter from the submerged surfaces of a swimming pool so as to disperse the foreign matter into the pool water for subsequent removal by the normal action of the pool filtering system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The cleaning of sediment and other foreign matter from the bottom and side walls of swimming pools involves considerable expense, since such cleaning is required at regular intervals and is both laborious and time consumming. The expense and work involved in pool maintenance has, in the past, proven considerably discouraging to prospective purchasers of pool installations. Therefore, pool owners and builders have long recognized the need for pool cleaning aids to reduce the time, labor and expense of such pool maintenance.
In recent years, automatic cleaning aids for swimming pools have been developed in which accumulated scum and dirt are cleaned from the walls of the pool by the action of a high pressure water spray issuing from a discharge nozzle attached to the end of a flexible hose. The flexible hose is submerged in the pool of water and may be supported by a float on the water surface. The passage of water under pressure though the flexible hose and an associated discharge nozzle causes the hose to writhe with a sinuous motion and thereby constantly reposition the high pressure water spray adjacent different portions of the submerged pool surface. As a result, the high pressure water action effectively removes the foreign matter from the surface of the pool, thereby dispersing said foreign matter in the pool water for subsequent removal by the pool's filtering system. Typical examples of such arrangements are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,170,180 to Winston, et al.; 3,032,044 to Pansini; 3,464,068 to Whitaker; 4,007,749 to Pansini; 3,718,148 to Gibellina; 3,689,408 to Edmiston, et al.; and 3,585,654 to Jacobs.
One of the difficulties with prior art swimming pool cleaning hoses of the type described above and shown in the referenced patents is the necessary amount of friction generated between the rapidly moving hose and the rough sides and bottom walls of the swimming pool. Often, the abrasion on such flexible hoses causes a rapid wearing of the hoses, resulting in a short life-span for such devices. Alternatively, the action of the hose moving about the swimming pool and against the surfaces can frequently damage the finish on such pool surfaces.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,820,172, Kane discloses the use of a plurality of wear rings surrounding the flexible hoses at strategic locations to prevent excessive hose wear. In the same manner, Rosenberg, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,005,723, illustrates a single roller on the end of a swimming pool cleaning hose for rolling the pipe in a circular action around the pool. Many of the prior art arrangements shown in the referenced patents described above further illustrate protective arrangements at the nozzle end of the hose.